Of Blood and Snow
by Mystic Yoshie
Summary: The story of Zelos' blood-covered past. How did the Chosen grow up to be who he is? How did Seles become trapped in the abby? Rated T for themes and suicide.
1. A Father's Funeral

_Author's note: This is something that I haven't seen a lot of, so I figured I would try and novelize Zelos' past. I'm getting my timeline from the Manga, so hopefully it turns out alright. I'll be taking a bit a leeway with dialogue, description, and characterization, however, it should remain close to the original. It should be a decently short story; I can't see it getting over ten chapters. Still, a good background._

_Disclaimer: Mystic Yoshie does not own Tales of Symphonia._

………………

Today was a day of sadness. Or so that was what Zelos had been told. Even nature seemed to think so, as the angels' tears were shed for the loss of his father. Zelos had never really known his father that well; he had always been in and out of the house at odd hours, performing ceremonies for the Church, working, and hundreds of other things that Zelos didn't get to hear about. He spent most of his time with Mother; playing in the garden, eating, studying his lessons…

But Mother was not there today. It was just Zelos and Sebastian, the head butler. The elder man held an umbrella over Zelos' head as they watched the casket being laid in the wet earth. They were not alone on this sad day; people, most of Meltokio's high society it seemed, had shown up from all over to say their farewells to Zelos' father.

Though the ten-year-old did not know his father very well, and really could not understand what was happening, seeing so many adults crying brought tears to his eyes too. He sniffled, the salty water mixing with the rain dripping onto his face. His mussed red hair and black clothing were being ruined by the sky water, but he really did not care.

Father would never be there to offer his small smiles or gifts to Zelos, or say how proud he was when his son did well in his lessons. The house would never be the same.

"This is a dark day for the Chosen's lineage."

Zelos, standing there silently as the rain fell around him, could easily hear the conversations of the people around him. His mother had often said that if you wanted to know anything, simply listen to the people around you; they'll tell you anything you want to know without even asking. He did so now, though not really aware as to why, there seemed to be something that he was not being told. Something about his father. He listened now for the answer.

"Yes, the Chosen committed suicide; it _is_ very hard to believe. Now Master Zelos will become the Chosen, correct?"

"That is what I heard."

The faceless, nameless people around him paid Zelos very little heed as their gossip continued. So what if he heard? What would the child make of the information anyway?

"Poor Lady Mylene! It seems that she is living in that big mansion all by herself!"

"Indeed."

The words of those around Zelos were drowned out by a flash of lightning and the rolling sounds of thunder.

"Master Zelos? Are you ready to go?" murmured Sebastian. "We should return before there is much more lightning."

Zelos said nothing, the lightning having illuminated something that he had not noticed before; a woman.

She was garbed in a plain, black dress and her blond hair fell freely around her. It was wet with rain, though most of her face was covered in a white shawl. In her arms she carried a little, unmoving bundle. It, too, was wrapped in black. As Zelos watched her, she caught his eye and he gasped slightly.

Her eyes were dark. Their color was that of a light purple, normally very pretty, however, today they were sunken in and red. She had been crying. Zelos wondered why she would cry so much for his father. Wasn't it normally family that was the saddest? Certainly Mother was…

"Master Zelos?" Sebastian's words made Zelos jump and he broke gazes with the unnerving woman.

He was glad; she scared him a little.

"Sebastian, who is that woman?"

"It is best if you do not worry yourself Master Zelos. Some things are best left alone. Come along."

As the butler led his charge back toward the mansion, Zelos heard more of the gossipers whispering amongst themselves.

"Who is she?"

"Must be an onlooker."

"But she even brought a child…"

That's what must have been in the bundle that the woman carried…

"How shameless!"

Sebastian rested one hand against Zelos' back as they retreated, leaving the nobles, the grave, and Zelos' father behind. Zelos glanced back for one last look at the grave, and as his eyes swept over the cold, hard stone, he could not stop himself from looking back at the stranger.

The blond woman was still standing there, tears now freely falling from her eyes and cascading down her cheeks. Her black dress was stained from the rain, and she seemed… gone. Like she was not really standing there, watching Zelos' father being buried in the rain, but somewhere far away. Somewhere nicer.

Zelos wished he could go too, not have to return to the cold, empty house. Not back to Mother, who would not leave her room, not back to lesson which no longer seemed important.

But, then again, we couldn't all have what we wanted.

………………

_R&R_

_~Yoshi_


	2. Perfectionist

_Chapter two._

_This one turned out a lot longer than the last, I'm quite please with it though. Zelos is so cute at this age, I know the first part is a little underage for a thirteen year old, but it just seems like something he would do as a kid…_

_Disclaimer: Mystic Yoshie does not own Tales of Symphonia._

……………….

_Mother hasn't left her room for days…_

"Mother, look, it's a beautiful day! The weather is just perfect! The flowers are blooming really prettily! Let's go out and play in the garden, can we? Please?"

"Please be quiet. My head hurts."

Zelos' enthusiasm died with his mother's words. He looked at her sadly. Mylene Wilder was the image of beauty; her long, blond hair pulled back into loose curls that hung around her thin frame, her strong cheekbones giving her an air of aristocracy and beauty. The only thing that hinted at her lack of health was that her blue eyes, periwinkle, so much like her son's, were glazed and cold. Normally void of all emotion, the only time Zelos ever gained their gaze was to be scolded.

Then they hardened to icy glass and Zelos wished she would look away.

_She's so sad; ever since Father died… but that was three whole years ago now. It feels like she'll never, ever be fun again…_

"Zelos, please leave. Your voice echoes and it makes my heard hurt more. Out."

"B-but…" Zelos trailed, his eyes downcast so they would not have to meet the glass eyes of his mother.

"Sebastian, take Master Zelos downstairs and keep him out of my hair," snapped Mylene.

Sebastian's guiding hand rested on Zelos' shoulder and as he was shepherded from the room, Zelos called over his shoulder, "I'm… sorry Mother!"

The door, however, did not think highly of his apology and it slammed behind them, cutting off his words.

"Come, Master Zelos, let's us have some tea, shall we?" Sebastian offered kindly.

Zelos knew that by "us" the man meant "you". The butler never ate in front of Zelos. When he was a child, Zelos had often times wondered if the man was not, in fact, a robot. When he had asked Mother, she had laughed as said that Sebastian _was_ human, he just ate on his own time. It was not professional for him to eat in front of the people he served.

Zelos nodded and found himself herded to the formal dining hall where he and Mother, and sometimes Father, had always taken their meals. For the past few years, though, it had usually been Zelos, alone. Mother had preferred to take her meals in her room.

Zelos stared down into the brown liquid, and stared back at himself. The young teenager studied himself intently, from his periwinkle eyes, to his red hair, to his round, childish cheekbones. He made several faces into the cup and examined certain parts of himself closely before Sebastian asked what he was doing.

"I'm trying to find out what's wrong with me," Zelos stated calmly.

Sebastian seemed surprised. "What in the world do you mean, Master Zelos, there is nothing wrong with you!"

"But Mother hates me, so there must be something that she hates! I want to know what that is so that I can fix it!"

Zelos tore his eyes away from his reflection to look sincerely up at the man who, he was surprised to see, seemed torn between laughing and crying.

"What is it, Sebastian?"

"Oh Master Zelos, your mother does not hate you. She loves you very much."

"Well, she doesn't _act_ like it! Don't Martel's scriptures say that it's not what we _think_ but what we _do_ that say who we really are?"

Again, the butler looked torn between emotions. "Well… yes, however, your mother finds it very had to overcome the loss of your father. It is not you, believe me."

"Maybe, if I make myself perfect, she'll be so happy she forgets about Father!"

And with those words, the boy began primping himself; running his fingers though his hair and straightening his outer jacket, all the while using his tea as a mirror. He stopped only when he felt a hand on his own. He looked up into the warm, brown eyes of his only friend.

"Master Zelos, not everything is about your appearance. There is much more on the inside then the outside."

………………

His plans at perfection destroyed, Zelos was left to wander the large mansion, alone. His footsteps were silenced by the plush carpets that lined the halls, so than no one heard his approach and the maids continued gossiping so that he could overhear them.

"…what of Lady Seles?"

"It seems that she ran away from home, despite her physical weaknesses…"

"And we are to watch out for her?!" The maid was apparently appalled by the very thought. "Why should we help that wretch?! She cannot even keep track of her own child!"

"What's wrong?" Zelos spoke us suddenly, curiosity gnawing at him. "Did something happen?"

"Oh, Master Zelos!"

"My Lord!"

Both women turned and beamed at him, their eyes betraying their discomfort at being overheard. Zelos had become very good at reading emotions.

"It is nothing m'Lord. Please, think nothing of it."

"Master Zelos, are you going out to play in the garden? Have fun!"

Their actions were not rare. Nowadays, everyone was whispering, their words like illusive shadows, ending in thin air just before he could catch them. All sounding the same, words like _that woman, little brat, _and someone called "_Seles"._

_I wonder who "Seles" is… I've never heard that name before…_ Zelos thought to himself as he wandered the empty halls of his great home. _What's the big deal about her anyway?_

The halls were bright with streaming sunlight, just as Zelos had claimed to his mother, the day was perfect; the sky was a clear, cloudless blue and the temperature was at the perfect midway point between warmth and coolness. The angels were smiling upon this day.

Deciding that he did, indeed, wish to go play outside, with, or without his mother—he need not waste the day just because she was in a bad mood—Zelos stopped in his large bedroom to pick up his favorite ball; a red, bouncy, round object that could fly hundreds of feet into the air if he bounced it against the ground hard enough. With the prized toy under his arm, Zelos set off for the back doors.

He was still on the upper floors when he spotted it, whatever _it_ was, out the window. At first it seemed to be only that a slight breeze was disturbing some of the bushes in the backyard, and the Chosen's thoughts were only on how much the wind would throw off his bouncing, until, this time, he saw the bushes move again and a strange, red object popped up for a second before disappearing behind the foliage again.

_What was that?!_ Zelos watched as the process was repeated again and the little red object appeared a second time. _Could it be a cat or something?_

His ball forgotten, Zelos raced down the last flight of stairs into the entrance hall and though a series of large halls to the back doors which lead to the garden. Zelos burst though the doors and slowed, not wanting to frighten whatever it was that was out there. He crept slowly though the bushes, searching for the red object.

_I'm sure it was here… somewhere…_

Suddenly, he found it and, with a jolt, realized that "it" was much more interesting that a cat.

In the dirt between bushes and trees, a little girl was crouched on the ground; her red hair was what he had seen from the window. Her hair was pulled back with a little white ribbon and she wore a rumpled white and pink dress. She was kneeling on the dirt, dirtying the lacy socks she wore. Her moss-green eyes were wide and scared and filled with tears.

_Red hair… it's the same as mine!_

"W-who are you? What are you doing here?"

The tears looked ready to overflow and as Zelos surveyed her, he realized she was only about three or four; much too young to be out alone.

"Where are your parents…?"

"I-I…I um…" and suddenly she let out an ear-splitting wail and buried her face against the ground, crying.

"S-Sebastian!"

………………

_R&R_

_~Yoshi_


	3. Little Sister

_Slightly shorter chapter, but there'll be a big chapter next time. Don't know when the update will come, but it will. Enjoy._

_Disclaimer: Mystic Yoshie does not own Tales of Symphonia._

* * *

Seles lay curled up in the big bed in the spare guest bedroom. She was a tiny girl, even compared to the few other small children that Zelos had seen, she was… fragile. Her skin was deathly pale and she had broken out in a fever and sweat and collapsed in the middle of Zelos' garden. He watched the slow breathing and sighed; so this girl was his sister…

"_Sebastian, who is she?"_

"_This girl is Lady Seles."_

"_Lady Seles? Is she from around here?"_

"_No. Master Zelos, do you perhaps recall, at your father's funeral, the woman and child whom you noticed."_

"_Yeah, I know… what does that have to do with…?"_

"_Lady Seles is your father's daughter. She has a different mother, but she is, in fact, your sister."_

Zelos ran the conversation that he had had with Sebastian over and over in his head _"She has a different mother, but she is, in fact, your sister."_ Zelos had a sister. He had always envied the other children who had siblings, someone they could always play with or spend time with… He had never been so lucky.

Now he had a little sister!

Still, the four-year-old girl looked… ill. Zelos was worried for the child's safety; if the stories were true, then his little sister was rather sickly.

"_Some time ago, we were notified of the search for her. Somehow, she snuck out of her home and came here. She is very sickly, so it is a wonder she made it this far," _Sebastian at said, _"She must have snuck out and come here."_

Suddenly, Zelos felt a surge of anger. This girl, this useless lump that lay dying in _his_ bed, she had taken his father from him. She had made Mother sad, she was the cause of the funeral so many years ago…

It was at this moment that the girl began to wake. Her big blue eyes, so much like her father's and Zelos' own, opened and seemed dazed for a moment before sharpening and fixing on the ceiling. Zelos watched her with avid fascination as those huge blue eyes fixed on her.

"W-where am I…?"

"Oh, good, you're awake!" Zelos smiled, all anger having dissipated. "You collapsed in the garden so I had Sebastian take care of you."

"B-big Brother?" she whispered, looking at him and Zelos jumped. "You're my big Brother, aren't you?" Her eyes seemed light and her lips split into a grin large enough to rival them. "I could tell right away! We have the same red hair! My name is Seles!"

"Seles…" whispered Zelos.

"Yup! It's really nice to meet you! I came to meet big Brother and Father!" She clapped her tiny hands together in glee and her smile, if possible, seemed to widen. "Father's here, right? I can't wait to meet him, I haven't met him, so that's why I came. And to see you of course!"

"Father…" The happiness had disappeared as quickly as it had returned. Seles did not know that their father was dead, despite her appearance at his funeral. Her mother had not told her… Seles was now looking around the room like she expected their father to step out of the closet and say "surprise!" or walk in with a tray of tea… "Father isn't here, Seles."

"W-what? What are you talking about? Oh, that's right… Mother did say that he was busy with work… I really wanted to meet him." She sighed. "I didn't get to see him again…"

Zelos felt his heart break as he watched her whole face fall. She seemed to literally deflate.

"W-well, you can always come back…" he said softly, "but next time use the front door, okay?"

Her face brightened again, and Zelos felt himself lift with her spirits.

"Really? I can come see big Brother?!"

"Sure, we're family; you can come play whenever you want!"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Sebastian entered, "Master Zelos, I apologize for interrupting, however, Lady Seles' mother is…"

Seles' mother was a short, thin woman whose face was pale as her white hair, making her small green eyes glitter. Zelos did not like her; he felt something… something very wrong.

"Mother! Big Brother said that I could come back some time! Can we come back soon?" cried Seles as she latched onto her mother's hand. "Please?"

Then the woman spoke; she had a soft voice, Zelos could barely hear her. Without answering her daughter, she turned to face Sebastian, "I apologize for causing you trouble, even after you told us to stay away from the Chosen…" her voice cracked on Zelos' title. "So very sorry…"

"Ma'ma, it is truly only a comfort to us that Lady Seles is alright."

"Can we _please_ come back and see big Brother soon?"

"Seles!" cried her mother, "Do not speak of the Chosen like that!" she snapped and glanced over at Zelos. As blue eyes met green, her eyes widened. However, they did not widen in the happy way that her daughter's did, but in a tortured, maddened way. Zelos felt the blood drain from his face as he looked at her. "Pardon us for being such a nuisance, Chosen One."

"Uh, no problem… see you soon Seles!" Zelos waved and smiled as the little girl was lead away by her mother. Her felt an uncomfortable sensation in his stomach at the thought of her being alone with that woman…

………………

Seles' mother pulled her down the street, away from the large city of Meltokio, all the while thinking… thinking…

_Why should that ungrateful child be the Chosen? Why couldn't it have been my Seles? She would make a much better Chosen… It is simply because of her heritage; the blood that flows through her veins is cursed. Elven blood is a curse when mixed with human…_

Bright, happy shops, smiling faces, the warms sounds and scents of city life were lost to the angry half-elf as she pulled her grinning daughter along behind her. The girl did not seem to notice her mother's anger or bitter thoughts but bounced along behind, enjoying the sights.

_But the previous Chosen and I were in love, true, honest love. Unlike that woman who mothered the Chosen. How could something cursed and bad come from a love like that?_

Suddenly, she stopped, her eyes glazed, but her mouth moved into a cruel smirk as a plan formed in her mind. Seles noticed, and looked up at her mother with bright, worried eyes.

"Mama? Is everything okay?"

She did not notice at first, that her daughter was speaking to her. Her eyes remained fixed on some distant point, some grasped thought. Then, she spoke:

"Oh, Seles, our darling child… Why weren't you Chosen? Why was it _him?_"

There was something very, very wrong, and Seles knew it. "M-Mother? What's wrong?"

"Yes, yes, that's it! You could be the Chosen One. We will make _you_ the Chosen, my child…"

* * *

_R&R_

_~Yoshi_


	4. Red Snow

_Wow, another short one, but it's very dramatic and…well I've been trying to make myself cry for the past hour. _

_Anyway, sorry I haven't updated, I've been…distracted, mostly by other writing or forgetting that I had this up. Only when Zelda bribed me—or I bribed her, depending on how you look at it—have I now FINALLY gotten around to it. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: Mystic Yoshie doesn't own Tales of Symphonia._

….

It was the perfect day.

Zelos' blue eyes glittered as he stared out the huge windows of his mother's room down into the gardens of their mansion. The usually green trees and sweeping green lawns were blanketed with a silvery-white coating of frost and frozen water. More of the snow drifted past caught in the soft wind that swept the world. It had stormed all night and when Zelos had awoken, he had opened his eyes to find the world outside his window coated in white.

He had raced down the halls of the mansion, still clothed in his nightclothes, to his mother's room where Mylene was being dressed by several maids. Her gray eyes had glittered with…good humor? Zelos had told her all about the snow, how it was out _every_ window in the house. How _cold_ Sebastian said it was. Mylene's mouth had twitched up into a small smile and she had nodded along with her child's explanations.

"Mother…" Zelos was almost hesitant to ask, but his mother seemed in a good mood and he really did want to… "May we go out to play?"

Zelos' mother turned to look at him for a long moment, then she nodded, "Perhaps…after breakfast. Come Zelos."

For the first time since his father had passed, Zelos' mother ate breakfast with him. It was also the first time Zelos had seen snow. Winter in Meltokio was too warm to be snowy like Flanoir, it mostly just rained during the winter, but the temperature had dipped just low enough for the rain to turn to snow.

…

Zelos had pulled on an oversized coat, boots, a scarf, and mittens and run out ahead of his mother, he frolicked through the snow as Mylene followed behind with a bemused smile as she watched him. His boots made deep footprints in the snow and Zelos struggled to move forward the farther from the house he got. He stumbled and fell, coming up with a face full of cold, frozen snow, but he only laughed. His next staggered step brought him down again, and he tumbled into a deeper snowdrift.

He giggled and flailed his arms and legs, propelling himself through the snow as if he was swimming. Mylene chuckled from her place several feet away on a mostly clear footpath. "Zelos do not get stuck…"

"Yes mother!" Zelos called back, he moved through the snow back toward her and the safe ground and come out covered in white. He did not even bother to brush himself off as he raced back through the garden to the snow in the courtyard.

_I'll make a snowman for Mother! I'm sure she'll be happy!_

Zelos made a small snowball and began to roll it through the snow, his mittened hands patting the ball as it grew, sticking the snow together as it enlarged. It rolled through the snow, but Zelos was forced to save his ball when both he and it were trapped, floundering, in the deep snow. When he finally came out, his ball was lopsided, but he was able to roll it back to the starting point, now several times larger than he.

He repeated the process two more times, each time the snowball was returned to the starting point at a little bit smaller. He hefted both the snowman's midriff, and then his head, onto the first ball so that it towered over him. He looked up at it, so proud of his creation, when his mother approached from behind.

"It is very nice Zelos…" she whispered softly. Zelos turned to look up at her, his eyes glittering with pleasure.

"Is it?" Zelos turned to look up at his mother over his shoulder, "I think it's—"

But what Zelos thought of his snowman, no one would ever discover. His mother stiffened, her eyes twitching to the corner of her eye, then back down to Zelos, panic was written on her fine features, her eyes dually panicked. Zelos could only watch as, for a long moment, indecision flashed through his mother's eyes, there was a sound, a popping and the sound of a projectile flying through the air and he was in his mother's arms, falling, falling…

They hit the snow, Zelos held tightly in his mother's grip. Her face was buried against Zelos' small chest, but he could still see around her shoulders and hair. It had begun to snow again, but the falling crystallized water was no longer white…but red. Red snow drifted from the sky, red snow covered his mother's back and caught in Zelos' red hair. Red snow covered the remains of his snowman and the perfect white ground around them. Red snow…

Blood.

His _mother's_ blood. The screaming began, the servant girl had finally gotten over her shock enough to scream. Sebastian called his name, then his mother's, but Zelos couldn't gasp back an apology.

The red spread, something warm dribbled over his legs and seeped into his coat and pants. Blood. His _mother's_ blood! She was…she was…

"_Mother!"_ screamed Zelos, he pulled himself from beneath her and tried to pull her up. "Mother!"

"Zel-…os…" she gasped his name.

"Don't talk!" Zelos commanded, but he couldn't help but feel relieved to hear his mother speak. He felt his heart calm slightly.

Mylene reached up and brushed her fingers alone his cheek, her eyes were hazy as she looked up at him and her face was covered in her own blood. "Zelos, my little Zelos…" she coughed, then, suddenly, a passionate smile lit her features, a sadistic smile, "…it would have been better if you hadn't been born…"

The tears that had been threatening to break forth from Zelos' eyes did, and the warm, salty water dribbled down his cheeks, leaving cold, wet trails down his face.

Mylene's hand fell away and her head tilted back at an unnatural angle, her blue eyes still wide open. Her ragged breathing ceased, but the blood continued to pool, seeping into Zelos' pants and coat, but he no longer cared.

_She hated him._

Zelos had ruined his mother's life, and, worst of all, ended it. Now she was free…and he was trapped, a monster who had taken his own mother's life.

"Chosen? Chosen? …Zelos? Are you alright?" Sebastian rested a hand on Zelos' shoulder. "Master Zelos, you must get inside, it is not safe out here. Please, come…" The butler tried to steer him toward the mansion, but all action ceased when a scream ripped through the air.

"That _bitch!_" screamed the voice as Seles' mother was dragged from the trees. Her hair was a mess of tangled curls and her eyes were wide and insane, tears fell over her cheeks as well, "Unhand me! Why the hell did she have to get in my way! If it hadn't been for her, _he—"_ the half-elf jerked her head shakily toward Zelos, "—would have been dead! And my Seles would be the Chosen! Why, _why!"_ She, like his mother, was insane. But unlike his mother, it was fury, not sadistic pleasure that coated Seles' mother's words.

_Then…why was I born?_

….

_Poor Zelos! He's so cute! _

_Anyway…uh, R&R and I'll try, key word TRY to get the next chapter up…in the next century. Heh…oops? And more Paradox to come, promise!_

_With love,_

_~Yoshi_


End file.
